VFF: Multi-dimensional Micro-CT Imaging

CT is ubiquitous both clinically and pre-clinically where it is mostly used to generate anatomical information. However, there is an unmet need and critical opportunity to extend CT from anatomical to functional imaging. Our group has been first in implementing some of the most challenging clinical temporal CT protocols (cardiac or perfusion) in the mouse. In this talk, we demonstrate how to use temporal and energy (spectral) dimensions to CT to produce 5D-CT (3D + Time + Energy) imaging. We address the challenges for preclinical 5D-CT at the sampling, reconstruction, and analysis levels. Furthermore, as radiation dose is always a concern for CT imaging, we successfully present solutions for low dose 5D-CT imaging based on compressed sensing theories.